Australian Open: Djokovic vs Tsitsipas Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Australian Open as Novak Djokovic takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final on Sunday, January 29, 2023.

Novak Djokovic remains in pursuit of a 10th Australian Open title. But he will face stiff competition from Greece’s No. 1 Stefanos Tsitsipas who is looking to lay his hands on his first Grand Slam title. Either way, history will be written. Who will prevail?

Novak Djokovic’s era of dominance, particularly at the Australian Open, is showing no signs of abating. For the 10th time in his life, he will contest an Australian Open final. And to put Stefanos Tsitsipas’ herculean task into perspective, Djokovic has not lost the nine times he’s made it to the final Sunday. The Serbian star will also play for the No. 1 ranking which he ought to have wrestled back last year had the Wimbledon points been accounted for. But nevertheless, Djokovic is still hungrier for more success at Grand Slam level and will tie Rafael Nadal on the men’s leaderboard with 22 Majors if he wins on Sunday.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, for his part, cruised into his second Grand Slam final with a four-set win over Russia’s Karen Khachanov. Tsitsipas looked set to put the match to bed in straight sets but complicated matters for himself. He was broken while serving for the match at 5-4, and then saw Khachanov pull off some stunning winners in the tiebreak, wiping off two match points in the process. But the Greek star regrouped and channeled that frustration into motivation and deservedly won the fourth set. He sets a showdown for the No. 1 ranking in Sunday’s Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic leads Stefanos Tsitsipas 10-2 in the head to head, winning their last nine on the bounce. The Greek star knows he’s got the game to challenge Djokovic, but he’s lost some nailbiters recently due to his inability to hold his nerve at key moments. But at this year’s Australian Open, Tsitsipas has corrected his mental hiccups, growing in confidence and not backing down from a challenge. Djokovic hasn’t been put to the test just yet, thanks in part to his kind draw this fortnight. But his toughest hurdle will surely be on Sunday. Expect the Greek to push Djokovic right to the wire in a classic final.